Minnesota Twins: Mark Hamburger signing becomes official

HOUSTON -- No promises were given or extracted when it came to Mark Hamburger's return to the Twins organization, which became official Tuesday.

Instead, the Twins' front office is banking on the hard-throwing right-hander's sincerity as he tries to rebuild a career sidetracked by a pair of failed drug tests within the past year.

"I guess we'll see," Brad Steil, the Twins' director of minor league operations, said Tuesday. "You have a choice: You either take him at his word or not. I know he's made some changes in his life and he's looking forward to getting back with an affiliated club. I think he's earned a second chance, so to speak."

Hamburger, 26, still must serve a 50-game suspension under minor league baseball's drug policy. The former St. Paul Saint will be allowed to go through a normal spring training, but when the season begins in early April, he will stay behind in Fort Myers at extended spring training.

It remains to be seen which level Hamburger would be assigned to once he serves his suspension, but he should be able to join a club by the end of May. The 6-foot-4, 195-pounder was primarily a reliever in his previous stints with the Twins, Texas Rangers, San Diego Padres and Houston Astros, the latter of whom released him in February.

Hamburger went 6-8 with a 3.26 earned-run average in 21 starts for the Saints this season, running his fastball up to 95 mph with solid secondary pitches (curveball and split changeup). That included five complete games and two shutouts.

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"He had some success this summer as a starter, and I think he liked doing it," Steil said. "That's something we'll keep in mind when we get to spring training."

Steil would not comment on whether Hamburger would be subject to additional drug testing under the terms of his contract with the Twins. Minor league drug testing is "totally random," Steil said, and it "varies from year to year on each player."

Steil could not remember the organization having signed a player still facing a drug suspension, but he allowed there were unusual circumstances surrounding Hamburger, a former Mounds View High School standout.

"Obviously we have a long history with Mark, going back to when we signed him out of a tryout camp (for $2,000 in 2007)," Steil said. "Our scout up here, Mark Wilson, knows Mark pretty well and has been tracking him through the season."

The Twins scouted Hamburger in person only a couple of times, Steil said, but Wilson kept tabs on him and spoke several times to Saints manager George Tsamis, a former Twins pitcher.

"I think it was more just (Hamburger) relaying he had made changes in his life and learned from the mistake and was ready to move forward with his baseball career," Steil said.

"He loves to play the game, and I think that's something that really hit home with him when he couldn't do that."

Other organizations pursued Hamburger, Steil said, but the pitcher "made it clear his preference was to sign with the Twins."

Hamburger was traded to Texas for Eddie Guardado late in 2008. Hamburger made five relief appearances with the Rangers in 2011, going 1-0 with a 4.50 earned-run average.

Hamburger becomes the fourth member of the independent-league club to sign with the Twins since 2011. The first of those, left-hander Caleb Thielbar, has become a valued part of the big-league bullpen this season.

Double-A infielder Brad Boyer also was signed off the Saints' roster in recent weeks.

Steil said the Twins have no current plans to sign additional independent leaguers, but it's something they will continue to monitor during the offseason.

"I think we've done pretty well with our independent league signings over the last few years," Steil said.

First baseman Chris Colabello has hit 30 homers this season, including six in the majors, while left-hander Drew Albers opened his big-league career with 17 1/3 scoreless innings.